# 1.2. How do I become a FAQ maintainer?

Actually, it's very easy to become a FAQ maintainer. And we are always in need of fresh blood. :-) In order to join us, you need to do the following things: first, you need the following software packages on your computer:

1. sgmltools 1.0.9: generate the different FAQ formats like HTML and PostScript from SGML. Don't get the 2.x version because we still need Linuxdoc compatibility. But this may well change when we finally move over to the new DocBook format.

2. ksgml2html: a front-end to sgml2html (one of the utilities in sgmltools) that is used to make generated HTML documents "KDE-ish". It is included in the kdesdk package under unstable/CVS/snapshots/current/ on the KDE FTP server and its mirrors.

3. cvs: needed to access the KDE CVS repository. Should be available on any decent GNU FTP mirrors.

4. Qt and KDE: no elaboration is needed, I hope. :-)

Actually, there's no need for you to be using KDE, but familiarizing yourself with KDE will undoubtedly make you a more effective FAQ maintainer.

After ensuring the necessary programs are installed on your system, you are ready to start. First, ask Stephan Kulow to grant you CVS write access. You need it in order to commit any changes or updates you've made to the FAQ files. You should also ask Martin Konold to add you to the KDE FAQ mailing list. While waiting for the CVS write access to come, you should familiarize yourself with the various tools that you've installed.

As soon as you are able to access the KDE CVS repository, you should download the FAQ files. They are located under kdebase/doc/khelpcenter/faq. Only the original SGML file and the generated HTML files can go into this directory. In addition, there's another place where you should commit your FAQ files: www/documentation/faq. The SGML version should not go into this directory, however. Only the HTML, PostScript, ASCII text and HTML tarball can go inside.

After you download the files, you can start editing them. The base document is called index.sgml, and is the source where all other formats like HTML are derived. Whenever you feel like making any changes to the KDE FAQ, this is the file to edit. After you have made sufficient edits, it's time to commit them to the CVS repository. But before you commit, please ensure that you have generated the required formats (HTML, ASCII text, PostScript and HTML tarball) as well.

Finally, you might ask what information should be added to the KDE FAQ. Answer: the faqs, of course! You should subscribe yourself to the various KDE mailing lists and newsgroups available, and after reading tons and tons of emails asking the same question again and again, you'd know what to add. ;-)